Monday: Afternoon Prayer

ABOUT TODAY

In the church calendar the long stretch of time between Pentecost and the beginning of Advent is known as ‘Ordinary Time.’ Inasmuch as we have celebrated the birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit; so this time is often seen as representative of the long ‘Church Age’ when the gospel is preached to all creation. Because of that, our intercessions during this period will include prayers for every single nation of the world by name.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Reader:
God, come to my assistance.All:Lord, make haste to help me.

Reader:Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. All:As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

AFTERNOON PSALM

Psalm 41

The Blessing and Suffering of the GodlyTo the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Blessed is he who considers the poor;The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive,And he will be blessed on the earth;You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;You will sustain him on his sickbed.

I said, “Lord, be merciful to me;Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”My enemies speak evil of me:“When will he die, and his name perish?”And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies;His heart gathers iniquity to itself;When he goes out, he tells it.

All who hate me whisper together against me;Against me they devise my hurt.“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted,Who ate my bread,Has lifted up his heel against me.

But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up,That I may repay them.By this I know that You are well pleased with me,Because my enemy does not triumph over me.As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,And set me before Your face forever.

Blessed be the Lord God of IsraelFrom everlasting to everlasting!Amen and Amen.

All:Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

WORSHIP (Optional)

All:
(A short time of worship and thanksgiving, led or spontaneous. Alternatively a devotional song may be played and listened to.)

OLD TESTAMENT READING

Daniel 2:31-49

Daniel Interprets the Dream

“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever,just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”Then the king gave Daniel high honours and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

Reader:The Word of the Lord.All: Thanks be to God.

Pause for Reflection……

PRAYER

(Take a moment to bring to God any issues that have arisen during the morning. You may like to end with the following prayer…)

Reader:Lord Jesus, we thank you for the work of the morning,
For the challenges faced and the obstacles overcome.
Grant that the rest of this day be used for your glory,
As we offer ourselves afresh to you. Amen

(If these prayers are taking place before food, you may like to say the Grace here also.)

GRACE (Optional)

Lord God, we thank you for your gift to us of this food;
Produce of earth, sky, many living beings, and much hard work.

May we eat with prayerfulness, gratitude and moderation;
With renewed minds and spirit-controlled appetites.

May we eat with compassion for those who hunger today,
And in such a way that reduces the suffering of all creatures;
Healing and preserving our precious planet.

Use this food to strengthen our bodies, revive our spirits,
Nurture our family and nourish our resolve;
That we may continue to serve all that lives with all our life. Amen